A NEW ‘motorcycle village’ at Hillington Park in Glasgow is expected to create up to 50 new jobs and attract 20,000 customers in its first year.

The new ‘destination shopping’ concept is part of a £10 million development by the UK arm of the park’s German owners – Patrizia Immobilien – and is thought to be the first of its kind in Britain.

The two motorcycle dealerships behind Ducati Glasgow, Triumph Glasgow and West Coast Harley-Davidson will move from their existing city centre bases to two new, purpose built showroom and service facilities on the site due to open in early 2017.

Both dealerships say they have seen significant growth over the last five years and need more space for future growth.

“We identified the need to move to bigger premises in 2012 and have been planning this incredibly exciting prospect since then,” said Martin Rees, managing director of Rogers, Rees & Robins, which currently runs the Ducati and Triumph franchises from Great Western Road.

“Hillington Park meets every requirement we had for the next growth phase of our business; a hugely visible, state-of-the-art facility housing two brands in plenty of space with a 50 space car park in one of the busiest shopping areas of Glasgow.”

West Coast Harley-Davidson currently trades from North Street in Glasgow’s Charing Cross.

Managing director Don Rutherford said: “We’ve been looking to expand our operation for some time now so to tie in this exciting development alongside Ducati and Triumph is a fantastic opportunity that will provide Scotland with a real class leading hub for bikers.

“Once complete, our building will be one of the largest Harley-Davidson dealerships in Europe.”

Local firm Pacific Building, also based at Hillington Park, has won the £4m contract to build and fit-out the new premises.

Hillington Park, to the west of Glasgow two miles from Glasgow Airport, covers 419 acres and is already home to more than 500 businesses employing around 8,000 people.

Jamie Cumming, the park's commercial director, said: “This is incredibly exciting for Hillington Park. Not only have some of the most iconic brands in the motor industry chosen Hillington Park as the place to expand their businesses, but it also sees our planned move into a major development phase now well underway."